Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the red grouper
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See the fishing tripsThe Red Grouper
late summer
45 cm
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The Red Grouper belongs to the Serranidae family. The Red grouper reaches a maximum total length of 125 cm and a maximum declared weight of 23.0 kg. Red Groupers are thought to have a lifespan of about 25-30 years. They breed from January to April. It is abundant at the end of summer.
The red grouper is a robust, medium-sized fish. It has large eyes and differs in size, the anterior pair being slightly smaller than the posterior pair. Pelvic fins are shorter than pectoral fins. The pelvic fins are inserted behind the pectoral fins on the body. The red grouper has scales and thick skin at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. The caudal fin is truncated and the caudal peduncle has no saddle. The head and body of the red grouper are dark reddish brown in color, then fading to pink or reddish on the sides and ventral side. Light-colored spots may be observed scattered over the body and small black spots may be present around the eyes. The anal, dorsal and caudal fins have dark margins. When the fish is resting, the coloring becomes more split, resembling the Nassau grouper.
The Red Grouper lifestyle
Red grouper food include various marine invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps and octopus, as well as fish such as snappers and parrots. The red grouper is known to be very sensitive to red tide poisoning.
The red grouper is a protogyne hermaphrodite. All fish begin to be females. Most females turn into males between 7 and 14 years of age, sometime after reaching at least 58 cm in length. During spawning, fish release their sperm and eggs into the offshore waters. Fertilized eggs require high salinity (32 ppm) to maintain buoyancy. Eggs hatch into larvae about 30 hours after spawning and live in zooplankton with ocean currents. Larvae leave the zooplankton and settle on the lower substrate about 35 to 50 days after hatching, which corresponds to a standard length of 20 to 25 mm. At the beginning of their youth, they feed mainly on demersal crustaceans living in sea grass beds. The largest fish feed heavily on young red groupers. As they grow, juveniles move to deeper rocky bottoms and feed on smaller fish and various invertebrates.
The Red Grouper habitat
This non-migratory fish is mainly associated with muddy and rocky bottom habitats at depths of 5 to 330 m and is often seen landing on bottom substrate. Young groups of red groupers reside in shallow marine beds until they reach larger sizes as they move to rocky bottom and reef habitats.
its range is limited to the western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina (United States) to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
The Red Grouper angling
The red grouper can be caught on lures, live bait and dead bait.
